80GI  '12  m  IVd 


^""^^^y      -^''^^»3o 


EIGHTH 
ANNUAL  CONFERENCE 

-of- 

Deans  of  Women 


Chicago,  Feb.  23  -  25 
1922  ;  ;  >-r 


Papers  Read  Before  Sectional  ilf'e^^h^V,  ^,'i  ^*  J  *,  *'« 
Deans  of  State' l/'Tt/Uer^Ue^  '      i*  »   »  ^ 


METHOD  OF  OBTAINING  WOMEN'S  DORMI- 
TORIES AT  KANSAS  EDUCATIONAL 

INSTITUTIONS  - 

by  Ann  Dudley  Blitz 
Dean  of  Women,  University  of  Kansas 

Ten  years  ago,  there  was  little  sentiment  for  Dormitories  in  Kansas.  The  older 
and  more  influential  alumni  had  not  yet  realized  the  change  that  had  come  about 
in  the  living  conditions  of  students.  They  thought  of  their  own  almost  ideal  college 
life  where  students  were  taken  into  the  homes  of  citizens  and  faculty  and  made 
members  of  the  family  during  their  college  course.  A  movement  undertaken  about 
1910  to  collect  private  funds  for  a  "Building  for  girls"  at  the  University  of  Kansas 
did  not  reach  the  goal  but  did  succeed,  at  least,  in  informing  the  alumni  of  the  un- 
favorable conditions  in  which  the  young  women  in  state  schools  lived,  and  making 
the  alumni  sense  the  need  for  college  homes. 

The  attempt  to  collect  money  having  failed,  thought  was  then  turned  toward  a 
legislative  appropriation.  Several  times  after  1910  the  University  included  a  dormitory 
for  women  in  its  budget,  but  without  avail.  It  now  became  a  question  of  education, 
not  of  the  alunmi  alone,  but  of  the  people  of  the  state. 

Very  soon  after  the  movement  had  been  undertaken  for  a  "Building  for  Girls" 
at  the  University,  there  chanced  to  be  formed  the  Kansas  Council  of  Women.  This 
organization  is  made  up  of  presidents  and  past-presidents  of  state-wide  women's 
organizations  such  as  the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  the  American  Asso- 
ciation of  University  Women,  the  W.  C.  T.  U.,  the  D.  A.  R.,  the  W.  R.  C,  the  League 
of  Women  Voters.  Deans  of  Women  are  also  ex-oflBcio  members.  The  object  of 
this  organization  is  to  be  of  service  to  the  state.  Fortunately  for  the  cause  of 
dormitories,  one  of  the  women  who  had  been  closely  associated  with  the 
movement  for  the  "Building  for  Girls"  was  an  active  member  of  the  Kansas 
Council,  and  it  was  through  her  influence  that  the  Coimcil  voted  to  undertake  the 
securing  of  an  appropriation  for  dormitories  as  one  of  its  principal  pieces  of  work. 


2  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 

For  several  Legislatures  the  Council  merely  supported  the  bills  introduced 
by  the  schools,  but  finally  a  plan  was  made  for  independent  action.  The  plan  was, 
in  reality,  developed  at  the  state  meeting  of  Deans  of  Women  and  Deans  of  Girls 
that  was  held  in  January  1920,  at  Pittsburg,  Kansas.  There  a  motion  was  intro- 
duced and  passed  to  request  the  Presidents  of  the  State  Schools  to  form  a  state- 
wide committee  on  student  housing.  The  committee  was  to  be  constituted  of  four  mem- 
bers from  each  school  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  of  the  school  and  to  be  made 
up  of  the  Dean  of  Women  and  one  representative  each  from  the  faculty,  the  alumni 
and  the  student  body. 

The  Presidents  received  the  suggestion  favorably,  the  state-wide  committee 
was  constituted,  and  had  an  early  meeting  in  Topeka  to  discuss  plans. 

Cost  of  building  was  at  that  time  almost  prohibitive  but  the  Committee  after 
consulting  the  Presidents  of  the  schools,  the  Board  of  Administration,  and  the  Gover- 
nor, recommended  a  plan  that  had  the  favor  of  all  these  persons — namely,  that 
a  bill  providing'for  a  bond  issue  of  1:000,000  dollars  be  introduced  into  the  next 
legislature,  in  older  to  initiate  »  binlmng  program  for  dormitories  at  the  five  state 
schools.  Eventually  this  plan  wafe  taken  over  by  the  Kansas  Coimcil.  Indeed,  it 
was  originated  by  t^e  Deangt  who  are  members  of  the  Council.  Thus  a  state-wide 
organization  waie  effected  which  ,l»ad. 'the  favor  not  only  of  five  schools,  (which  had 
usually  appeared  as  rivals  before  the*  Legislature)  with  their  faculty,  alumni  and 
student  bodies,  the  Board  of  Administration  and  the  Governor,  but  which  also  had 
the  solid  support  of  a  vast  body  of  women,  more  than  80,000  altogether.  The  cause 
too,  was  an  asset,  since  no  personal  interests  were  involved. 

The  Council  entered  with  great  vigor  upon  the  prosecution  of  the  plan.  A  com- 
mittee of  five  was  created  to  provide  necessary  publicity,  to  draft  the  bill  (see  note, 
Page  7),  and  push  it  in  the  Legislature.  Incidentally  the  Committee  had  also  to 
provide  funds.  No  worker  was  paid  for  her  time,  but  all  actual  expense  for  railway 
fare,  hotel  bills,  printing,  stamps,  stationary,  and  telegrams  were  met  by  friends 
of  the  movement.  At  two  of  the  schools,  a  large  percent  of  the  expense  incurred  was 
raised  by  small  contributions  of  the  women  students.  It  mav  be  of  interest  that 
while  the  estimated  budgets  made  by  men  of  experience  on  legislative  lobbies,  ranged 
from  1500  to  2500  dollars,  the  actual  total  of  the  campaign  in  question  was  slightly 
over   700   dollars. 

It  was  no  small  task  to  conduct  the  campaign,  of  course.  The  formal  support 
of  the  various  constituent  organizations  of  the  Council  had  to  be  made  real  and 
active  by  personal  appeal.  For  this  purpose  the  cause  was  laid  by  the  Deans  and 
others  vitally  interested  before  the  state,  district,  county  and  city  meetings  of 
many  organizations.  The  publicity  woman  was  very  active.  Bulletins  from  all  the 
the  schools  were  sent  out  to  the  Alunmi,  stories  were  run  in  all  the  leading  news- 
papers— all  this  throughout  the  fall  months.  After  the  Legislature  assembled  in 
January,  petitions,  letters  and  telegrams  were  called  for  from  local  constituents 
to  overcome  opposition  or  stir  the  active  interest  of  Legislative  members. 

The  Council  members  themselves,  sixty  to  seventy-five  in  number,  did  admirable 
work,  in  fact  the  chief  work  of  the  committee  in  charge  was  to  direct  and  organize. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Council,  which  occurred  soon  after  the  Legislature 
convened,  it  was  voted  to  register  en  masse  to  lobby  for  the  bill.  At  this  meeting, 
too,  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature  were  divided  up  among  the  women, 
in  order  that  each  member  might  receive  full  information  about  the  needs  of  the 
schools.  The  chief  characteristic  of  the  lobby  was  its  educative  policy,  the  thought 
being  knowledge  of  actual  facts  and  conditions  would  secure  the  votes. 

Frequently  conferences  of  the  Coimcil  were  held  in  Topeka  during  the  session 
of  the  Legislature.  These  conferences  were  more  or  less  open;  wives  and  members 
of  the  Legislature  were  invited  to  be  present:  so  were  also  as  many  women  as  possible 
who  were  leaders  in  the  local  community.  Some  of  these  women  rendered  valuable 
assistance. 

It  was  an  interesting  and  valuable  experience  to  watch  the  bill  on  its  progress 
through  both  houses — an  identical  bill  was  introduced  into  each  house  at  the  same 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES 


time.  It  was  introduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  woman,  had  the 
support  of  all  the  women  members,  and  was  intended  to  be  treated  as  a  woman's  mea- 
sure. In  the  Senate  it  was  introduced  by  the  Chainnan  of  the  Conmiittee  on  State 
Affairs. 

The  choice  of  persons  to  introduce  the  bill  and  the  selection  of  the  chief  support- 
ers was  carefully  thought  over  in  advance  by  the  Committee  in  charge,  great  care 
was  given  to  the  drafting  of  the  bill  in  the  first  place. 

The  possible  committees  to  which  the  bill  might  be  referred  were  carefully  con- 
sidered with  the  probability  of  their  favorable  report  in  mind.  The  members  of  the 
committees  to  whom  the  bills  were  referred  were  interviewed  preparatory  to  the 
hearings  and  the  presentation  of  the  cause  at  the  hearing  was  planned  with  the  great- 
est care.  After  the  bills  were  reported  favorably  and  before  they  came  up  for  dis- 
cussion, every  member  of  both  houses  was  interviewed.  When  a  member  was  found 
to  be  doubtful  or  opposed,  every  endeavor  was  made  to  win  him  over,  especially 
by  giving  him  information  and  by  securing  the  interest  of  his  constituency  "Back 
home."  At  least  two  members  of  the  Committee  in  charged  stayed  almost  con- 
tinually at  the  Capitol,  and  for  days  together  they  had  the  assistance  now  of  one 
woman,  now  of  another,  whose  interest  was  keen  and  whose  support  was  felt  to  be 
needed  at  various  jimctures. 

The  actual  obstacles  to  the  passage  of  the  bill  itself  were  considerable.  Building 
prices  were  still  high  and  farmers  were  complaining  of  high  taxes.  There  was  strong 
opposition  to  any  bond  issue,  because  Kansas  had  burned  her  bonds  some  years 
before  and  was  proud  and  boastful  about  being  out  of  debt.  The  bill  called,  besides, 
for  the  limit  of  mdebtedness  under  the  state  law.  The  bill  passed  the  Senate  as  orig- 
inally introduced,  however,  by  a  majority  of  one.  In  the  House  a  lively  fight  was 
made  against  it,  and  it  was  not  passed  until  it  had  been  amended  by  substituting 
a  direct  appropriation  for  the  bond  issue  and  by  cutting  the  amount  from  1,000,000 
to  half  a  million  dollars.  At  the  urgent  request  of  the  friends  of  the  bill,  the  Senate 
voted  favorably  on  the  House  amendment.  It  did  not  seem  safe  to  play  for  an 
increase.  While  there  was  a  very  real  need  for  all  the  money  for  which  the  bill  orig- 
inally called,  the  women  felt  that  the  effort  put  forth  had  nevertheless  been  rewarded. 

A  great  American  architect  has  recently  said  that  success  is  due  to  three  ele- 
ments, untiring  work,  interest  (rather  than  inspiration)  and  cooporation.  These 
three  elements  the  Council  certainly  had  in  rich  measure.  The  success  of  the  under- 
taking was  due  to  the  cooperation  of  many  interested,  untiring  workers.  Here  and 
there  a  leader  stands  out,  to  be  siu-e,  but  in  fairness  to  the  many,  perhaps,  no  names 
should  be  mentioned. 

While  the  Council  bill  had  the  favor  of  the  schools,  it  was  of  course  entirely 
separate  from  the  appropriation  bills  for  the  schools  and  had  no  adverse  influence 
so  far  as  could  be  noticed  upon  those  bills. 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 


THE  DELINQUENT  STUDENT 

by  Ruby  E.  C.  Mason 

Dean  of  Women,  University  of  Illinois 

Delinquency  is  the  offspring  of  deliquency,  and  the  parent  of  deiiquency, — 
hence  the  relationship  of  the  responsibility  of  the  university  administrative  officer 
is  three-fold. 

The  delinquent  student  is  the  offspring  of  poor  parentage  or  of  poor  teaching, 
or  of  poor  parentage  plus  poor  teaching.  We  and  our  output  are  yearly  becoming 
more  and  more  responsible  for  the  character  and  quality  of  both  parentage  and  teach- 
ing. Thus  our  dehquents  multiply  themselves  in  over  increasing  numbers.  Thus  it 
behooves  us  to  lessen  the  number  of  our  deliquents  in  very  self-preservation. 

Mrs.  Martha  P  Falconer  of  the  American  Social  Hygiene  Association  has  said 
quite  pertinently  to  our  subject,  "We  must  find  out  in  every  case  what  lies  back 
of  the  low  standing,  lack  of  interest  and  disobedience,  and  the  earlier  the  child  is 
taken  in  hand  intelligently,  the  better.  Let  us  get  hold  of  the  child  early,  but  what 
we  really  must  do  and  are  doing,  is  to  get  hold  of  the  parents  of  the  next  generation 
while  the  next  generation  is  still  in  the  distant  future." 

As  a  natural  outcome  of  the  democratic  spirit  of  this  country,  the  parents  gave 
over  their  children  into  the  safe-keeping  of  the  public  schools.  In  doing  so,  they  trans- 
ferred to  the  public  schools,  to  a  lamentable  degree,  parental  authority.  In  the  State 
of  Illinois,  approximately  one-fifth  of  the  people  of  the  State  are  to  be  found  in  the 
classrooms  of  the  public  schools  each  day,  and  34,000  teachers  are  required  to  teach 
these  students.  Already  in  the  last  ten  years,  attendance  of  the  American  High 
Schools  has  increased  400  per  cent.  Last  year,  the  University  of  Illinois,  which  gradu- 
ates about  one  thousand  young  people  each  year  received  2,079  calls  for  teachers. 
With  the  teacher  shortage,  doubtless  many  of  our  delinquent  students  found  their 
way  into  the  ranks  of  teachers  and  are  already  breeding  deUquents. 

The  average  cost  of  instruction  per  pupil  is  48  dollars  and  the  elementary  and 
secondary  schools  spend  about  70  million  dollars  each  year  for  education.  This  woe- 
ful waste  of  money,  to  say  nothing  of  the  waste  of  endeavor  and  courage, 
should  be  an  arousement  to  the  tax-payer  whose  business  it  is  finally.  With  the 
ever  increasing  so-called  democratic  spirit  and  the  greater  efficiency  of  the  Americani- 
zation movement,  the  great  avalanche  of  these  high  school  graduates  is  at  our  college 
doors  clamoring  for  admission.  What  shall  we  do  with  it?  And  what  of  the  future? 

"To  indicate  the  future  strains  for  which  colleges  and  universities  must  now 
be  preparing,  Julius  H.  Barnes,  Chairman  of  the  Institute  for  Public  Service,  has 
issued  a  summary  for  210  colleges  and  universities  which  shows  enrollment  for  1914, 
1917,  and  1920  in  colleges  and  professional  courses  excluding  summer  and  exten- 
sion classes,  and  also  what  the  registration  will  be  in  1930  and  1950  if  the  growth 
of  the  last  six  years  is  continued.  These  210  colleges,  which  in  1914  had  187,000 
students  and  last  year,  294,000,  will  have  471,000  in  1930  and  831,000  in  1950,  if 
they  continue  the  same  number  increase  each  year;  if  they  keep  growing  at  the  average 
percentage  rate  of  the  last  six  years,  they  will  have  659,000  in  1930  and  1,138,000 
in  1950." — Assoc,  of  Coll.  Alumnae  Journal. 

While  it  is  possible  to  multiply  physical  equipment  indefinitely,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  multiply  a  suitable  faculty.  To  sacrifice  excellence  to  mere  physical  growth 
is  disastrous. 

The  number  of  delinquents  in  all  of  our  universities  and  colleges  is  appalling. 
From  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other  the  wail  has  gone  up.  Already  the  endowed 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES 


schools  have  begun  to  curtail  the  numbers  and  to  become  naore  selective.  Prince- 
ton University,  which  last  year  announced  its  determination  to  limit  the  under- 
graduate enrollment  to  2,000  students,  wUl  choose  from  the  candidates  on  a  basis 
of  scholarship  and  character.  In  addition  to  passing  regular  college  entrance  exam- 
inations, candidates  for  admission  will  be  required  to  file  certificates  of  good  charac- 
ter and  statements  signed  by  the  principals  of  their  school  concerning  their  personal 
record. 

The  enrollment  at  Columbia  University  lastfyear  was  31,000.  This  fact  and 
the  complexities  that  are  the  outcome  of  the  huge  enrollment  are  probably  the  cause 
for  Dr.  Nicholas  Murray  Butler's  outburst  that  "the  modern  college  is  a  high  class 
country  club." 

Professor  E.  C.  Sihler  of  New  York  University  says:  "Enjoyment  of  luxury 
and  ease  for  four  years  and  a  little  study.'on  the  side  constitute  satisfactory  f uU-fil- 
ment  for  requirment  of  a  college  degree  nowadays.  Industry  and  hard  study  are 
no  longer  a  part  of  a  college  man's  life,"  he  declares,  "with  the  present  system  of 
elective  or  honey  courses.  It  is  about  time  that  the  university  authorities  throughout 
the  country  should  get  together  and  set  strict  entrance  requirment,"  Professor  Sihler 
added,  "and  insist  on  a  satisfactory  completion  of  such  required  subjects  as  the 
classics  and  mathematics.  The  average  student  spends  his  time  smoking  cigarettes 
and  wasting  his  father's  money  and  his  own  time.  I  think  a  good  spanking  and  pair 
of  stout  shoes  would  be  better  for  the  college  boob  than  a  racing  car  and  silk  shirts." 

The  expressions  of  President  Butler,  President  Lowell  of  Harvard,  President 
Hibben  of  Princeton,  concerning  their  discontent  with  the  content  of  the  student 
body  brought  the  'comeback'  in  an  editorial  in  the  New  York  Times  stating  that 
the  presidents  are  legally  responsible  for  the  faults  they  remark  in  many  of  their  students 
since  they  are  in  a  position  to  have  much  to  say  as  to  qualifications  for  entrance 
and  more  as  to  the  qualifications  for  remaining. 

Mr.  S.  W.  Linslay  of  Webster,  Mass.,  in  answering  says:  "Harvard  and  Col- 
umbia and  others  take  what  high  schools  and  boarding  schools  furnish.  Discipline 
has  fallen  down  in  homes.  Parents  will  not  generally  'stand  for'  needed  school  dis- 
cipline. At  length  youths  swarm  into  colleges  not  always  influenced  by  the  scholastic 
or  moral  worth  so  much  as  by  the  social  and  athletic  standing,  and  many  professors 
know  their  departments  are  hardly  more  than  tolerated  save  by  the  rare  man.  The 
home,  the  common  and  the  secondary  school  have  their  part  for  years  and  no  Lowell 
or  Butler  can  work  miracles." 

Just  last  week  the  scholarship  requirement  of  the  University  of  Chicago  was  raised 
in  an  effort  to  limit  attendance.  The  passing  grade  for  maj  or  students  was  made  C,  two 
grades  higher  than  formerly.  "We  are  doing  this  to  prevent  an  overflow  attendance 
and  to  limit  our  graduates  to  the  highest  possible  grade  of  students,"  said  Dean 
L.  A.  Robertson.  "This  places  our  scholarship  requirements  among  the  highest 
in  the  country." 

Colleges  for  women  are  silent.  But  they  have  for  years,  from  the  nature  of  their 
being,  had  a  selective  system.  As  the  pressure  has  become  greater,  they  have  been 
able  to  tighten  more  and  more  on  their  entrance  requirements.  The  endowed  college 
will  continue  to  raise  its  standard  of  selection  and  more  and  more  of  the  unselected 
will  seek  admission  to  the  State  University. 

Of  the  7,745  undergraduate  students  enrolled  at  the  University  of  Illinois  last 
semester,  330  were  dropped  from  the  college  because  of  delinquent  scholarship,  and 
1,010  were  placed  upon  probation  because  they  failed  to  make  a  passing  grade  in 
a  minimum  of  eleven  hours  of  the  work  for  which  they  were  registered.  From  every 
University  represented  here  today  could  come  the  story  of  the  increased  number  of 
delinquents  from  the  greatly  increased  registration,  but  delinquency  comes  high. 
The  money  that  it  cost  to  carry  our  1,340  delinquents  through  one  semester  could 
have  been  much  better  expended  in  providing  preparation  in  the  High  School.  The 
money  loss  is  as  nothing  compared  to  the  loss  of  human  endeavor,  the  loss  of  time, 
the  discouragement  that  is  most  destructive  and  the  disappointment  that  comes 
to  parents. 


PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 


From  all  the  foregoing,  I  would  say  that  we  can  best  do  our  part  towards  re- 
ducing the  number  of  delinquente  in  our  State  Universities  by  doing  all  in  our  power 
to  have  the  citizens  of  the  State  realize  that  their  first  responsibility  to  State  Uni- 
versities is  to  insure  them  the  right  to  control  the  requirements  for  entrance.  The 
standards  of  Universities  ought  not  to  be  lowered  to  meet  the  deficiencies  of  High 
Schools.  The  elimination  of  delinquents  should  take  place  before  matriculation, 
and  the  responsibility  placed  for  the  great  proportion  of  delinquency  where  it  belongs. 

Professor  Guy  M.  Whipple  of  the  University  of  Michigan  recently  gave  the 
Alpha  Test  to  325  probation  students  and  to  150  volunteer  non-probation  students, 
and  deduced  from  the  results  that  not  more  than  7  or  8  per  cent  of  the  students  plac- 
ed on  probation  are  so  handicapped  by  inferior  native  ability  that  they  could  not 
escape  failure  if  they  were  reasonably  industrious  and  were  able  to  arrange  their 
daily  life  in  such  a  way  as  to  favor  their  college  work.  Our  part  of  the  program  is 
to  help  them  in  this  arrangement. 

Many  of  the  causes  for  delinquencv  comes  from  the  problems  of  registration 
week  and  many  of  them  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  girl  who  has  to  work 
her  way  throu^  school  should  so  state  on  her  registration  card.  She  should  be  re- 
quired to  carry  a  reduced  schedule  and  be  advised  concerning  her  program  in  order 
that  there  will  not  be  a  conflict  between  her  classes  and  her  duties.  The  girl  who 
has  failed  to  make  the  full  number  of  hours  the  preceding  semester  should  be  ad- 
vised to  keep  her  schedule  within  her  capacity,  notwithstanding  her  desire  to  make 
up  the  hours  to  cover  her  delinquency.  The  physical  examination  reveals  many  weak- 
nesses and  tendencies  hitherto  unknown  to  the  student.  Troubles  from  thyroid 
glands,  diseased  tonsils,  and  weak  hearts  cause  many  a  girl  to  fail,  who,  with  proper  at- 
tention might  become  a  good  student.  Co-operation  of  the  Health  OflBcer,  Dean  of 
Women,  and  Dean  of  the  College  could  remove  many  causes  of  deUnquency  and  of 
failure.  An  explanation  by  the  Dean  of  Women  of  the  Regulations  for  the  Guid- 
ance of  Undergraduate  Students  given  at  the  beginning  of  each  semester  to  new 
students,  with  the  requirement  that  each  student  have  a  copy  of  the  regulations 
with  her  at  the  time  for  explanation,  would  prevent  many  misunderstandings.  Di- 
rect information  concerning  rules  for  probation,  overcutting,  concerning  responsi- 
bilities to  University  organizations,  to  the  Hospital  Fund,  and  to  regulations  for 
conduct,  rather  than  misconstrued  interpretations  from  the  student  body,  will  pre- 
vent much  delinquency. 

In  seeking  to  eliminate  the  causes  of  failure,  proper  housing  and  proper  feeding 
play  an  important  part.  We  cannot  overestimate  "the  power  of  light  and  air,  quiet 
and  cleanliness,  space  and  beauty,  in  determining  the  physical  stamina,  the  temper 
and  temperament,  the  mental  alertness,  the  character  and  ideals"  of  our  young  people. 
Mr.  Frnak  Crane's  article  on  "Benefits  that  Crowds  Cannot  Offer"  expresses  a  thought 
that  is  quite  compelling  in  our  consideration  of  the  crowded  conditions  under  which 
our  young  people  are  trying  to  find  themselves — and  not  each  other.  "Scientists 
tell  us  that  every  atom,  even  in  the  solidest  substances,  as  iron,  is  relatively  and  in 
proportion  to  its  size  as  far  removed  from  its  companion  atoms  as  one  star  in  our 

heavens  is  distant  from  the  other Nature  intended  everything,  even  atoms 

to  have  elbow  room." 

With  our  crowded  class  rooms,  crowded  walks,  crowded  boarding  clubs,  crowd- 
ed rooming  houses,  even  our  attics  for  sleeping  quarters,  crowded  dance  halls,  crowd- 
ed movies  and  even  crowded  swimming  tanks  and  crowded  hospitals,  we  would  do 
well  to  reflect  carefully  on  Mr.  Crane's  conclusion  and  work  harder  to  apply  the 
solitude  cure  to  the  ills  we  are  so  read^  to  attribute  to  our  young  people.  "All  this 
makea  one  ready,  alert,  skillful  in  busmess  and  quick  in  repartee.  But  the  stronger 
and  more  substantial  traits  of  human  character,  which  grow  only  in  spacious  areas 
of  solitude,  have  no  chance  to  develop.  There  are  such  soul  growths  as  wonder,  the 
appreciation  of  beauty,  the  love  of  nature^  the  knowledge  of  what  is  worth  while,  forti- 
tude, humility  and  poise,  and  finally  religious  feeling.  Not  one  of  these  things  which 
make  a  man  really  and  inwardly  prepared  against  fate  and  strong  against  the  re- 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES 


verses  of  destiny,  will  grow  in  the  trampling  and  press    and  hurry  of  crowds  and 
affairs." 

When  it  happens  that  our  large  state  universities  are  situated  in  comparatively 
small  communities  the  problem  of  housing  students  becomes  a  very  serious  one.  The 
long  period  in  which  practically  no  building  was  done,  the  increased  cost  of  build- 
ing smce  the  war,  the  inflated  prices  of  selling  and  renting  houses,  the  high  cost  of 
up-keep,  the  commercialized  attitude  have  all  tended  to  bring  about  a  condition 
in  which  it  is  very  difl&cult  for  students  to  buy  at  a  reasonable  price  any  semblance 
of  an  environment  conducive  to  study. 

To  meet  these  conditions,  we  have  encouraged  student  organization 
to  have  more  organized  houses.  About  one-half  of  our  women  are  taken  care  of  in 
this  way.  149  are  living  in  our  residence  hall,  609  are  in  sorority  houses,  140  are 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  building  (or  McKinley  Hall),  and  in  Church  houses,  and  30  are  in  Co- 
operative houses. 

The  following  figures  will  show  more  clearly  than  any  argument  in  words  that 
a  modem  residence  hall,  conducted  under  capable  social  direction  and  good  physi- 
cal administration,  is  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  reducing  student  delinquency. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  semester  of  the  year  1921-22,  of  the  1909  undergraduate 
women  enrolled  at  the  University  of  Illinois: 

41  were  dropped  because  of  failure  2%  of  total; 

233  were  placed  on  probation  12.2%  of  total; 
Of  the  1000  organized  women  (including  town  girls) 

30  were  dropped  because  of  failure  or  3%  of  total; 

109  were  placed  on  probation  or  10.9%  of  total; 
Of  the  606  Sorority  women 

7  were  dropped  because  of  failure  or  1.15%  of  total; 

91  were  placed  on  probation  or  15%  of  total; 
Of  the  180  town  women 

11  were  dropped  because  of  failure  or  6%  of  total 

20  were  placed  on  probation  or  11%  of  total; 
Of  the  149  in  Woman's  Residence  Hall 

2  were  dropped  because  of  failure  or  1.34%  of  total; 

9  were  placed  on  probation  or  6%  of  total; 

The  scholarship  average  of  the  women  in  Residence  Hall  was  3.40. 

The  scholarship  average  of  an  equal  number  of  sorority  women  taken  at  ran- 
dom was  3.26. 

During  the  recent  final  examination  period,  lasting  over  a  period  of  two  weeks, 
concerning  the  149  women  living  in  Residence  Hall,  there  were  absences  for  illness 
from  but  two  examinations. 

Absences  cause  much  delinquency.  I  shall  read  the  regulations  concerning  ab- 
sences to  show  how  we  seek  to  meet  this  form  of  delinquency. 

Regulation  48:  Instructors  report  all  absences  daily  on  blanks  furnished  for 
the  purpose.  The  absences  of  the  men  are  reported  to  the  Dean  of  Men,  and  those 
of  the  women  to  the  Dean  of  Women.  No  absence  is  excused  or  omitted,  but  such 
information  as  the  instructor  has  may  be  transmitted  with  the  report. 

Regulation  49:  A  student  has  no  right  to  be  absent  from  any  exercise  in  a  course 
for  which  he  is  registered  except  for  serious  illness,  or  by  action  of  University  rule, 
or  for  other  unavoidable  circumstances;  or  unless  he  has  secured  permission  in  ad- 
vance to  withdraw  from  the  course,  according  to  Rule  19. 

A  record  is  kept  of  all  absences.  When  a  student  has  passed  the  limit  in  any  one 
subject,  the  Dean  of  Men  or  the  Dean  of  Women  informs  the  instructor  in  charge 
and  drops  that  student  from  the  course.  — Absence  caused  by  serious  sick- 
ness or  other  unavoidable  circumstances  shall  not  count  toward  dropping  a  student 
from  the  course.   —  —  — 


8  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 

A  student  who  allows  himself  to  be  dropped  from  a  course  by  absenting  him- 
self from  it  for  causes  other  than  those  specified  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  and  there- 
by reduces  the  number  of  hours  for  which  he  has  registered  to  fewer  than  15,  violates 
Rule  22,  and  unless  he  is  reinstated  in  the  course  from  which  he  was  dropped,  or 
secures  permission  from  the  Dean  of  his  College  to  carry  fewer  than  the  required 
number  of  hours,  he  goes  automatically  upon  probation;  such  probation  to  be  re- 
ported by  the  Dean  of  Men  or  the  Dean  of  Women  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Council  of  Administration  for  record.  In  case  such  student  fails  to  pass  at  least 
eleven  hours  of  work  in  the  semester  in  which  he  is  thus  placed  on  probation,  and  in 
the  succeeding  semester,  he  is  dropped  from  the  college. 

A  student  who  has  been  placed  on  probation  under  Rule  53  and  who  then  allows 
his  registration  to  fall  below  fifteen  hours,  by  reason  of  absences  as  just  prescribed, 
unless  he  secures  the  consent  of  the  Dean  of  his  College  to  proceed  with  fewer  than 
fifteen  hours  is  dropped  from  the  college;  and  a  student  who  has  been  placed  on  pro- 
bation under  the  preceding  paragraph  of  this  rule  and  who  then  allows  his  registra- 
tion to  fall  below  twelve  hours,  by  reason  of  absences,  unless  he  secures  the  consent 
of  the  Dean  of  his  College  to  proceed  with  fewer  than  twelve  hours,  is  dropped  from 
the  college. 

To  aid  in  obtaining  better  scholarship  at  the  University  of  Illinois,  on  the  fourth 
Friday  of  October,  the  second  Friday  of  December,  and  the  third  Friday  of  March, 
each  instructor  reports  to  the  ofl&ces  of  the  deans  of  the  colleges  upon  the  work  of 
all  freshmen  and  special  students,  and  upon  all  other  students  whose  work  is  pre- 
sumably below  C. 

The  Dean  of  Women  investigates  to  learn  the  causes  of  poor  work  in  the  case 
of  women  students.  She  advises  the  Dean  at  the  college  if  a  change  of  schedule  seems 
advisable,  the  Head  of  the  House,  if  the  student  is  an  organized  girl  and  supervised 
study  seems  necessary,  the  girl  herself  to  reduce  her  social  program  if  it  seems  some- 
what overworked,  and  the  parent,  if  the  reduction  does  not  follow. 

It  is  often  said  that  sorority  rushing  causes  many  a  girl  to  lose  out  from  the  start, 
and  I  am  afraid  that  this  is  only  too  true.  I  would  like  to  suggest  that  raising  the 
requirements  for  initiation  will  reduce  this  cause  of  delinquency  to  a  negligible  de- 
gree. 

Universities  and  colleges  in  smaller  towns  face  different  social  conditions 
so  that  some  of  their  problems  are  not  reflected  in  big  city  imiversities.  I  can 
quite  understand  that  Columbia  University  would  not  appreciate  Princeton's  cause 
for  taking  its  recent  stand  against  the  students'  use  of  the  automobile. 

A  recent  announcement  is  to  the  effect  that  the  thefts  of  automobiles  through- 
out the  United  States  for  one  year  amounted  to  a  money  value  of  one  hundred 
million  dollars.  I  am  sure  that  if  we  could  measure  in  money  the  loss  to  scholar- 
ship and  high  endeavor  that  has  come  to  the  students  in  a  small-town  college  com- 
munity it  would  measure  no  less. 

To  conclude:  We  have  heard  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other  wholsesale 
condemnation  of  the  youth  of  today.  But  youth  is  the  same  as  it  has  always  been.  It 
does  not  change,  we  have  taken  away  home  life,  care  and  discipline  of  parents  and 
have  substituted  life  on  the  streets  and  in  public  places.  Instead  of  the  quiet  and 
repose  of  home  we  give  youth  the  white  lights,  jazz,  the  sex  appeal  of  motion  pictures 
and  books  of  scandal;  youth  accepts  the  program.  The  backbone  is  not  yet  set. 

If  we  object  to  the  demoralizing  influences  we  can  always  resort  to  substitution. 
Youth  will  accept  one  as  readily  as  the  other.  If  we  realize  what  dimly-lighted,  bad- 
ly-ventilated, over-crowded  dance-halls  are  doing  for  us,  let  us  substitute  plenty 
of  dancing  space  in  attractive,  clean,  wholesomely-environed  halls — and  the  dance 
will  go  on.  If  we  know  what  jazz  is  doing  for  the  youth  in  our  care,  and  they  do  not, 
let  us  supply  good  music  and  I  believe  they  will  swing  off  just  as  briskly  and  just 
as  happily  to  the  waltz,  or  two-step,  or  new  step,  if  needs  be,  as  they  did  to  synco- 
pated  music. 

The  announcement  has  just  been  made  that  Princeton  will  have  a  half -million 
dollar  ice-skating  rink.   I  believe  that  a  few  hundred  yards  of  artificial  ice  would  do 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES 


more  for  those  of  us  who  are  in  institutions  in  flat  country  and  moderate  temperature 
than  volumes  of  regulations. 

I  believe  that  the  time  wDl  soon  come,  if  it  is  not  now  here,  when  the  State  Uni- 
versity will  have  to  provide  more  directed  wholesome  play — more  real  recreation, 
instead  of  the  tawdry  amusements  which  destroy  instead  of  recreate. 

The  State  is  saying  to  us  that  higher  education  is  enormously  increasingly  ex- 
pensive; that  health  service  departments,  residence  halls,  scientifically-conducted 
commons,  stadiums,  theatres,  gymnasiums,  skating-rinks,  recreational  halls,  music, 
and  directed  play  are  expensive  luxuries.  Let  us  say  to  the  state  that  none  of  these 
is  as  expensive  as  the  lost  human  endeavor  of  the  thousands  of  the  upper  stratum 
who  are  making  the  final  effort  in  preparation  for  leadership,  that  these  expenses 
are  as  nothing  when  compared  with  the  cost  of  failure.  They  are  as  nothing,  if  with- 
out them  the  University  must  send  back  to  the  state,  after  four  years,  its  sons  and 
daughters  unfitted  to  assume  the  obligations  of  citizenship. 

The  deliquent  student  is  produced  by: 

1.  Inadequate  preparation,  inefficient  teaching  in  the  High  School  or  mental  in- 
adequacy. 

2.  The  difficulties  of  adjustment  to  the  newness  and  bigness  of  the  University. 

3.  Unsuitable  housing. 

4.  Mal-nutition. 

5.  Physical  inabilities. 

6.  Lack  of  sufficient  University  supervision  of  extra-curricular  activities  and  of 
recreation. 

Delinquency  may  be  greatly  reduced  by: 

1.  Having  the  citizens  of  the  State  realize  the  necessity  of  giving  to  the  State  Univer- 
sity equal  opportunity  with  the  endowed  institution  to  maintain  standards  by 
having  complete  control  of  the  requirements  for  entrance. 

2.  Complete  advice  at  registration. 

3.  An  early  explanation  of  the  regulations  for  the  guidance  of  undergraduate  students 
together  with  a  statement  concerning  the  obligations  that  accompany  privileges. 

4.  An  adequate  Health  Service  Department  requiring  a  physical  examination  and 
re-inforced  by  a  Physical  Education  Department  equipped  to  do  corrective  work 
in  addition  to  the  regular  work. 

5.  Better  housing  and  by  scientific  feeding. 

6.  The  organization  of  groups  into  responsible  groups. 

7.  Closer  co-operation  of  the  Dean  of  Women  and  these  organizations,  and  of  the 
Dean  of  Women  and  parents. 

8.  University  supervision  of  recreation. 


10  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETINGS 


RECREATION  AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  MIXER 

by  Mrs.  Jessie  B.  Ladd 
Dean  oj  Women,  University  of  Minnesota 

Dean  Wells  of  Indiana,  in  her  request  for  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  "Recrea- 
tion and  the  University  Mixer,"  says  that  she  understands  that  we  have  practically 
solved  this  problem  in  Minnesota."  Knowing  well  how  far  we  are  from  this  blessed 
consummation,  I  am  rather  loath  to  speak  on  the  subject.  However,  I  am  glad  to 
tell  you  of  what  we  have  done,  if  you,  on  your  part,  will  remember  that  we  do  not 
consider  the  problem  solved. 

What  opportunities  are  there  for  social  contacts  at  the  University  of  Minnesota? 
In  the  jBrst  place,  as  the  center  and  heart  of  the  recreational  activities  of  the  women, 
we  have  our  Woman's  Building,  Alice  Shevlin  Hall.  Shevlin  HaU  was  given 
to  the  women  of  the  University  of  Minnesota  about  fifteen  years  ago,  by  a  wealthy 
Minneapolis  man,  the  late  Mr.  Thomas  Shevlin.  We  were  very  fortunate  in  that  a 
man  of  large  and  generous  ideas  was  able  to  see  the  need.  It  was  due  to  the  efforts 
of  the  Woman's  League  and  the  Young  Woman's  Christian  Association  that  this 
need  was  made  clear  to  him.  First  then,  there  was  the  need;  second,  the  need  made 
clear,  and  third,  the  need  supplied. 

We  might  walk  through  the  building,  in  fancy,  to  see  just  how  it  serves  the  Univers- 
ty  women.  From  the  spacious  hall  there  is  a  generous  view  into  the  Uving  room.  This 
is  a  lofty,  panelled  room  suggestive  of  old  English  comforts.  There  are  inviting  chairs, 
pleasantly  uninstitutional;  davenports,  and  tables  on  which  are  the  latest  papers 
and  magazines.  On  cold,  wintry  days  a  fire  blazes  in  the  great  fireplace.  Thirty  to 
fifty  girls  may  be  seen  here  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  visiting  or  studying. 

On  Wednesday  afternoons,  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  I  have  read  aloud  in  this 
room  to  groups  of  girls.  The  Fireside  Reading  Hour  has  come  to  be  quite  a  feature 
in  Minnesota.  I  read  short  stories  and  the  girls  come  and  go  as  they  please.  It  has 
proved  a  very  restful  and  pleasant  hour.  We  serve  cocoa  and  cakes,  and  I  have  an 
opportunity  to  chat  with  the  girls  in  a  most  informal  fashion. 

During  the  week  of  examinations,  I  serve  refreshments.  This  gives  an  oppor- 
tunity for  lessening  the  strain  of  this  trying  period.  The  girls  flock  in  and  seem  so 
grateful  for  the  hot  tea,  the  informality,  and  the  atmosphere  of  "nothing  is  expected 
of  you  now." 

Then  for  those  students  who  wish  a  smaller  and  more  intimate  meeting  place,  we 
have  a  room,  cozy  with  fireplace  and  candles,  where  groups  of  twenty  of  more  may 
gather.  This  may  be  reserved  in  advance,  and  there  is  seldom  an  afternoon  when  this 
room  is  not  in  use  for  small  teas,  for  committee  meetings,  for  various  women's  or- 
ganizations on  the  campus.    There  is  no  charge  for  this  privilege. 

Opposite  the  Living  Room  is  the  Assembly  Room,  white  enameled,  sunny, 
with  a  good  floor  and  graced  by  the  portraits  of  ex-President  Vincent  and  our  be- 
loved Maria  Sanford.  Here,  at  the  noon  hour,  the  girls  dance.  They  are  mostly  non- 
sorority  girls.  This  has  always  seemed  a  happy,  carefree  time,  when  they  can  chat 
and  play  and  cast  off  the  strain  of  the  classroom.  The  room  is  provided  with  piano, 
victrola,  and  stage  curtain.  Evening  lectures,  plays,  dances  and  musicals  are  also 
given  here. 

I  will  mention  some  of  the  Clubs  which  entertain  at  teas  and  evening  parties 
at  Shevlin  Hall.  There  are  the  State  Clubs,  the  woman's  Class  organizations.  Bib 
and  Tucker,  Pinafore,  Tam  O'Shanter,  and  Cap  and  Gown;  Pharmacy,  Dental  and 
Chemistry  Clubs;  Girl  Scout  Clubs;  the  Menorah  Society,  made  up  of  Jewish  men 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  U 

and  women;  the  Woman's  Glee  Club,  Scroll  and  Key,  the  Architectural  Club,  Torch 
and  Distaff,  a  new  Home  Economics  Honorary  Society;  and  the  Mortar  Board. 
Then  too,  there  are  the  Literary  Societies,  Dramatic  Clubs,  and  so  on  almost  with- 
out   end. 

In  this  connection,  I  might  say  a  word  about  the  chaperonage  of  parties  on 
the  campus,  which  is  under  our  immediate  jurisdiction.  Practically  all  evenmg  parties 
are  dancing  parties,  and  are  given  on  Friday  or  Saturday  nights.  We  ask  for  two 
faculty  chaperons  for  each  party.  Printed  slips  are  sent  out  asking  each  chaperone 
to  report  to  the  Dean's  office  as  to  the  style  of  dancing  and  the  courtesy  which  they 
receive.  We  feel  that  some  gain  is  made  in  this  way,  as  chaperons  tend  to  take  the 
duties  more  seriously  if  they  think  an  accounting  is  requested. 

To  return  to  Alice  Shevlin  Hall,  the  Young  Woman's  Christian  Association 
rooms  are  just  beyond  the  Assembly  room.  Religious  meetings  are  held  here  once 
a  week.  Many  general  teas  are  given  to  the  University  girls  by  the  Association. 
The  Christian  Association  parlor  afifords  another  opportunity  for  girls  to  meet  and 
visit  with  their  friends.  Early  in  the  year  the  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's 
Christian  Association  give  one  or  more  receptions  to  the  new  students. 

The  lower  floor  of  the  building  is  occupied  mainly  by  the  constantly  expanding 
cafeteria.  Fiteen  years  ago  we  could  only  seat  200  in  the  dining  room.  Now,  owing 
to  a  generous  appropriation  from  the  Legislature  we  are  able  to  seat  600.  About 
700  girls  lunch  here  daily.  This  lunching  together  helps  the  girls  to  become 
acquainted  and  to  form  friendships.  There  are  both  large  and  small  private  dining 
rooms  for  the  use  of  any  group  signing  up  in  advance  with  the  cafeteria  director. 
For  the  non-sorority  girls  this  is  a  most  desirable  feature.  A  successful  innovation 
of  this  year  is  the  small  kitchen  which  has  been  furnished  for  the  use  of  the  girls 
who  want  to  prepare  their  own  spreads  and  teas. 

The  third  floor  is  given  up  to  the  Woman's  Self-Govemment  Association  Office, 
the  Study  Room,  Rest  Room,  the  Woman's  University  Club  Room,  a  small  sewing 
room,  and  the  office  of  the  Housing  Bureau.  Our  Housing  Bureau,  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  most  competent  woman,  Mrs.  Mary  Staples,  is  taking  an  increasingly 
important  part  in  bettering  the  living  conditions  for  the  students.  In  connection 
with  this,  you  might  be  interested  to  know  of  the  success  which  we  have  had  with 
Householders  Council.  This  was  started  four  years  ago  by  Dean  Gertrude  Beggs. 
Semi-monthly  meetings  are  held  at  the  different  rooming  houses.  Meetings  of  the 
same  sort  are  held  by  the  sorority  chaperones.  Matters  of  interest  concerning  the 
health  and  well-being  of  the  girls  are  discussed.  In  this  way  the  Dean  of  Women 
has  had  the  confidence  and  co-operation  of  the  heads  of  the  houses. 

To  return  to  Shevlin  Hall,  my  own  office  is  on  the  first  floor,  a  most  desirable 
feature  as  it  is  easy  for  the  "new"  students  to  find,  and  convenient  for  the  older 
students. 

The  soul  of  Alice  Shevlin  Hall,  if  you  will  allow  that  a  building  may  have  a  soul, 
entered  with  the  class  of  1907.  This  class  was  most  appreciative  of  the  wonders 
of  Shevlin  in  that  they  had  known  what  it  was  to  go  without  it.  The  delight  in 
the  building,  with  its  opportunities  for  comfort  and  the  forming  of  friendships,  has 
somewhat  cooled  as  the  years  have  passed.  The  students  are  less  conscious  of  its 
joys  but  their  use  of  the  building  and  its  steady  influence  in  their  lives  plays  as  im- 
portant a  part  as  formerly. 

The  second  most  important  factor  in  providing  a  satisfactory  recreational  and 
social  life  for  the  women  students  is  our  splendid  Woman's  Self-Government  Asso- 
ciation, with  its  Council  Room  in  ShevUn  Hall.  It  is  an  organization  to  which  all 
the  women  students  belong.    Two  of  its  express  purposes  are: 

1.  To  create  a  sense  of  unity  and  fellowship  among  the  women. 

2.  To  promote  and  to  maintain  the  highest  standards  of  University 
life. 

I  cannot  speak  in  terms  of  too  great  praise  of  the  place  the  Woman's  Self-Govemment 
Association  holds  in  University  life.    There  are  eighteen  members  on  the  Board. 


12  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETINGS 

The  Dean  of  Women,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Board,  attends  all  meetings.  I  am  al- 
ways highly  pleased  at  the  serious  and  enthusuastic  manner  in  which  business  is 
conducted.  The  Woman's  Self-Govemment  Association  is  a  tower  of  strength  to 
the  Dean  of  Women.    I  will  mention  some  of  their  activities. 

Every  two  weeks,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  they  give  sunlight  dances.  These 
were  started  in  1914  to  help  the  girls  who  have  few  opportunities  of  making  acquaint- 
ances among  the  men.  The  men  are  asked  to  pay  twenty-five  cents,  the  girls  pay 
nothing.  Two  or  more  faculty  women  act  as  chaperones.  Introduction  committees 
of  both  men  and  women  are  appointed.  These  parties  are  given  during  the  fall  and 
winter  quarters  and  are  attended  by  from  two  to  three  hundred  couples.  In  the 
spring,  the  students  seem  to  prefer  the  out-of-doors.  The  students  have  attempted 
to  have  good  music,  not  jazz,  and  I  think  that  it  has  made  some  difference  in  the 
manner  of  dancing.  If  a  couple  are  noticed  to  be  dancing  objectionably,  a  card  bear- 
ing this  inscription  is  handed  to  the  man: 

UNIVERSITY  0/  MINNESOTA 
School  Year  192U22 

We  do  not  dance  cheek  to  cheek,  shimmy,  or  dance  other  extreme 

dances.    You  must  not. 
A  second  notice  will  cause  your  public  removal  from  the  hall. 

"Help  to  Keep  up  Minnesota  Standard" 

Signed:  Woman's  Self-Government  Association,  and 

Association  of  Minnesota  Upperclassmen. 

The  threatened  public  removal  from  the  hall  has  occasionally  been  exercised  by 
a  strong  armed  force  of  men.  The  most  favorable  and  hopeful  outlook  on  the  style 
of  dancing  is  that  our  strong  women's  organizations,  such  as  the  Women's  Self- 
Government  Association,  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  the  Women's 
Athletic  Association,  etc.,  do  not  favor  extreme  dancing. 

Lord  NorthcUff  says,  in  a  recent  publication  that  "what  interests  a  person  one 
year  may  not  interest  him  the  next.  We  are  always  outgrowing  ourselves.  Old  people 
cannot  set  their  mental  clock  back  and  see  things  with  the  eyes  of  youth,  I  am  fifty- 
six  and  for  the  life,,  I  cannot  understand  young  folks'  interest  in  dancing."  Now, 
although  I  am  older  than  Lord  Northcliff,  I  can  perfectly  comprehend  this  great 
interest,  even  passion,  for  dancing,  for  I  have  loved  to  dance  from  youth  to  age. 

To  cite  the  other  activities  of  the  Women's  Self-Govemment  Association. 
Early  in  the  year,  they  have  open  house  on  Sunday  afternoons,  at  Shevlin.  A  general 
invitation  is  given  out  and  many  lonely  students,  both  men  and  women,  come  and 
enjoy  the  open  fire  and  the  opportunities  of  meeting  other  students.  Occasionally 
the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  acts  as  hostess  at  these  meetings. 

Also,  every  Friday  afternoon,  a  social  hour  is  held  at  Shevlin.  Some  little  enter- 
tainment is  given,  and  light  refreshments  are  served.  A  general  invitation  is  given 
to  all  University  women,  and  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  girls  attend.  The  Pan- 
Hellenic  Association  is  also  giving  teas  at  Shevlin  once  in  two  weeks.  All  University 
women  are  invited.  Sorority  and  non-sorority  girls  attend.  I  am  sure  that  this  mixer 
makes  for  a  better  feeling  and  is  a  move  in  the  right  direction.  A  genuine  attempt 
is  being  made  on  the  part  of  the  sorority  girls,  for  more  democracy  m  the  sororities. 
It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  if  these  Pan-Hellenic  teas  were  given  in  sorority  houses, 
very  few  non-sorority  girls  would  attend. 

The  House  Council  is  one  arm  of  the  Women's  Self-Govemment  Association. 
They  attempt  to  improve  living  conditions  at  the  University,  and  also  to  regulate 
matters  of  conduct  in  connection  with  the  houses.  Just  now,  they  are  trying  to  reach 
the  lone  girls  in  the  boardine  houses.  A  big  party,  the  first  of  its  kind,  has  recently 
been  given,  to  which  all  such  girls  were  especially  invited.  About  one  hundred  and 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  13 

twenty-five  attended  and  was  a  great  success.  An  organization  of  these  girls  has 
just  been  formed  for  mutual  enjoyment  and  benefit.  The  girls  at  the  head  of  this 
movement  are  so  fine  and  democratic  that  I  am  hoping  for  great  results.  The  House 
Council  has  also  recently  passed  a  ruling  whereby  the  domitory  and  all  the  sorority 
and  rooming  houses  may  hold  Open  House  on  Saturday  evenings. 

The  valuable  work  of  the  Big  Sisters  is  also  under  the  direction  of  the  Women's 
Self-Government  Association.  These  Big  Sisters  are  appointed  in  the  spring  term 
from  the  ranks  of  the  junior  and  senior  classes.  For  some  years  the  attempt  was 
made  to  have  a  Big  Sister  for  each  incoming  Freshman,  but  it  proved  to  be  unsuccess- 
ful in  that  the  Big  Sisters  had  too  many  Freshmen  to  be  able  to  look  out  for  them  in  a 
satisfactory  manner.  Last  year  the  Board  decided  to  appoint  Big  Sisters  for  all  out- 
of-town  Freshmen.  This  has  proved  much  more  satisfactory.  Big  Sisters  do  not  have 
more  than  three  or  four  Freshmen  to  look  after.  The  Freshmen  are  written  to  during 
the  summer.  They  are  often  met  at  the  train  and  assisted  to  find  a  rooming  place 
and  helped  in  registration.  Later,  a  tutor  is  found  for  them  if  they  have  difficulties 
with  their  studies.  Parties  are  given  for  them,  and  they  are  escorted  by  their  Big 
Sisters.  In  this  way  a  sisterly  eye  is  kept  upon  the  Freshmen  until  they  become  ac- 
customed to  the  University  and  learn  its  ways  and  traditions.  I  am  sure  than  many 
Freshmen  have  been  much  helped  and  heartened  by  the  Big  Sisters  Organization. 

The  Women's  Self-Govemment  Association  have  a  dancing  class  every  Thurs- 
day from  seven  to  eight  p.  m.  in  Shevlin  Hall.  A  fee  of  $10  is  charged.  The  class 
is  taught  by  University  girls,  and  is  well  attended,  especially  by  Freshmen  who  have 
not  had  many  social  opportunities.  To  work  together  or  to  play  together  seems  the 
best  way  to  form  real  friendships. 

The  Women's  Self-Government  Association  also  gives  a  Thanksgiving  Dinner, 
each  year,  to  out  of  town  girls,  and  they  make  great  efforts  to  see  that  the  lonely 
ones  really  come  and  that  they  have  a  good  time. 

The  second  orgaization  which  offers  recreational  opportunities  is  the  Women's 
Athletic  Association.  "The  purpose  of  his  organization  is  to  promote  an  effort  for 
physical  efficiency,  to  stimulate  an  interest  in  athletics  and  to  create  a  spirit  of  good 
sportsmanship."  About  fifty  girls  belong  to  this  association. 

The  membership  basis  of  the  Women's  Athletic  Association  has  recently  been 
changed  from  the  open  to  the  closed  type.  A  certain  number  of  honor  points  are 
an  eligibility  requirement,  the  points  to  be  won  by  class  team  membership,  and  other 
ways.  The  number  out  for  the  various  sports  is  an  indication  of  the  variety  of  inter- 
est shown: 

Fall  Field  Hockey 

Winter  Ice  Hockey 

Basketball 
Skiing 
Spring  Baseball 

Archery 

These  are  all  contestants  for  Class  teams.  In  addition,  there  are  about  one  hundred 
more  girls  playing  in  the  House  Baseball  and  Basketball  teams.  The  House  teams 
were  begun  in  an  effort  to  stimulate  interest  in  sports  among  the  sorority  girls.  The 
teams  playing  in  the  House  Contest  are  from  all  the  sororities.  East  and  West  San- 
ford  Hall  (our  one  dormitory)  and  the  three  co-operative  cottages. 

The  Aquatic  League  is  also  a  branch  of  the  Women's  Athletic  Association.  This 
has  a  membership  of  about  twenty-eight.  They  meet  once  a  week  and  an  exhibition 
of  fancy  swimming  is  given  about  once  a  month. 

Another  group  which  offers  recreational  opportunities  to  aU  women  is  the  Trailers 
Club.    To  quote  its  constitution: 

"The  purpose  of  this  Club  shall  be  to   foster  a  love  of  the  out- 
of-doors  and  of  sports  which  create  good  fellowship." 
There  are  forty  active  members  and  a  large  and  enthusiastic  group  of  Alumnae. 


75 

to 

80 

25 

to 

30 

90 

to 

100 

40 

to 

50 

90 

to 

100 

25 

to 

30 

14  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETINGS 

A  rather  unusual  feature  of  this  club  has  been  that  increased  rather  than  decreased 
activity  in  its  behalf  has  been  shown  after  leaving  college.  The  Alumnae  have  re- 
cently bought  a  cottage  on  a  river  about  twelves  miles  from  the  University.  This 
makes  an  objective  for  hiking  and  a  place  for  both  winter  and  summer  sports. 

Every  Saturday  afternoon,  the  Trailers  Club,  with  some  outside  girls,  get  to- 
gether for  some  sort  of  fun — skating,  hiking,  swimming,  snow-shoeing,  and  skiing. 
Also,  during  the  spring  vacation  every  year,  we  girls — this  includes  myself — have 
a  "spring  running."  We  start  out  with  knapsack  on  back,  for  a  two  or  three  days' 
tramp.  We  cook  our  lunches  out  of  doors  and  stay  over  night  wherever  night  over- 
takes us.  A  rest  of  ten  minutes  out  of  every  hour,  or  "Owres",  so  named  for  our 
Dr.  Owre  who  started  this  custom,  helps  one  to  tramp  all  day  without  excessive 
fatigue.  This  hike  is  a  joy  to  anticipate  through  the  winter  months.  To  awaken 
the  love  of  tramping,  or  as  Stevenson  puts  it  "the  delight  of  the  tightening  of  the 
muscles  of  the  thigh,"  to  know  the  joy  of  the  open  road,  this  is  a  most  worth  while 
endeavor. 

Somewhat  later  in  the  spring,  the  Trailers  have  a  two  day  canoe  trip  down  the 
beautiful  St.  Croix  River,  and  at  the  close  of  school  an  annual  house-party  is  given. 
Membership  in  this  club  is  on  a  strictly  democratic  basis. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  say  that  we  at  Minnesota  recognize  the  importance  of 
recreation.  Our  task  is  to  make  the  student's  recreation  serve  her  best  interest. 
When  I  think  of  the  way  in  which  some  students  dance,  of  the  excessive  gayety  of 
the  few,  of  the  lonliness  of  the  many,  I  feel  almost  discouraged.  But  some  of  this 
we  may  lay  to  the  war  and  justly  so.  The  method  of  dancing  is  much  better  than  a  year 
or  two  ago,  and  more  hands  are  being  held  to  the  lonely  girl.  So  there  is  hope.  With 
patience  and  the  active  co-operation  of  the  fine  student  leaders  at  the  University, 
we  may  accomplish  the  impossible. 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  IS 


THE  FUTURE  OF  SORORITIES  FROM  A 
PANHELLENIC  STANDPOINT 

by  Lillian  W.  Tompson 
National  PanheUenic  Delegate  for  Gamma  Phi  Beta 

Since  Apollo  no  longer  grants  interviews,  even  to  Greeks  anxious  to  inquire 
about  the  future  of  Panhellenism,  the  only  way  to  forecast  coming  events  is  by  study- 
ing the  past  and  present.  What  did  the  National  fraternities  set  out  to  do  when 
they  started  the  PanheUenic  movement?  They  were  determined  (1)  to  increase  inter- 
fraternity  friendliness,  (2)  to  guide  fraternity  activities  into  the  best  channels,  and 
(3)  to  attack  the  faults  of  the  fraternity  system.  What  success  has  twenty  years  of 
constant  endeavor  produced  along  these  lines,  and  what  does  the  future  seem  to 
offer? 

Interfraternity  friendliness  first  developed,  naturally,  among  the  national 
ofl&cers  who  attended  the  yearly  meetings  of  the  National  Panhellenic  Congress. 
The  intimacies  and  the  new  ideas  which  these  meetings  brought  the  delegates,  they 
shared  as  best  they  could  with  their  grand  Officers  and  fellow  members.  Delegates 
started  College  Panhellenics  in  all  colleges  where  national  fraternities  were  repre- 
sented in  order  to  force  the  more  or  less  unwilling  active  girls  to  know  each  other 
also.  In  the  last  ten  years  the  fruit  of  this  movement  has  appeared  in  the  establish- 
ment and  rapid  growth  of  City  Panhellenics  all  over  the  United  States.  The  very 
girls  who  when  active  found  Panhellenic  irksome,  insisted  when  they  became  alumnae 
on  forming  Panhellenic  associations  in  their  home  towns,  so  that  they  might  keep 
up  the  pleasant  interfraternity  associations  started  in  college.  About  sixty  of  these  socie- 
ties are  affiliated  with  the  National  Panhellenic  Congress.  Many  more  are  not  affiliated . 
All  are  carrying  on  various  interesting  activities  which  range  from  helping  College 
Panhellenics  and  encouraging  scholarship  with  cups  and  funds,  to  supporting 
local  philanthropies.  Akron,  Ohio,  has  started  a  kind  of  Panhellenic  fraternity  house, 
in  which  business  women,  fraternity  and  non-fraternity,  find  a  pleasant  horne  and 
echoes  of  college  life.  A  group  of  alumnae  have  built  Camp  Panhellenic  on  Washington 
Island,  where  active  and  alumnae  girls  from  all  fraternities  spend  the  summer  to- 
gether. Groups  of  fraternity  girls,  traveling  in  Europe  last  summer,  with  the  Ray- 
mond Tours,  arranged  to  visit  certain  places  together  and  thus  added  greatly  to 
the  joys  of  travel.  Reports  from  these  Panhellenic  undertakings  always  emphasize 
the  delightful  social  life  which  is  the  basis  of  their  wide  popularity.  It  is  evident  that 
the  future  will  see  a  still  further  strengthening  of  these  interfraternity  intimacies. 

The  development  and  guidance  of  fraternity  policies  has  also  met  with  sub- 
stancial  success.  Women's  fraternities  are  now  exceedingly  well  organized.  They 
all  have  a  staff  of  experienced,  long  term  officials,  many  of  whom  are  paid.  Most 
fraternities  have  a  central  office  in  which  is  carried  on  the  immense  volume  of  secre- 
tarial work  necessary  for  the  management  of  from  twenty  to  sixty  active,  and  nearly 
as  many  alumnae  chapters.  Fraternities  control  and  improve  their  active  chapters 
through  visiting  delegates.  They  finance  their  plans  by  ample  yearly  incomes  and 
by  growing  endowment  funds.  Of  late  considerable  sums  are  spent  on  scholarships, 
and  philanthropies  for  women  and  children  not  connected  with  fraternities.  A  moun- 
tain settlement  school,  a  summer  camp  for  underfed  children,  a  teacher  for  the  Mame 
coast  islanders,  a  hospital  truck  for  southern  mountain  people,  a  vacation  home  for 
children— All  are  now  being  supported  by  N.  P.  C.  fraternities.  Secrecy,  except 
concerning  initiation,  has  almost  disappeared.  It  is  not  at  all  unusual  to  see  conven- 
tion reports,  financial  reports  and  all  sorts  of  business  affairs  in  fraternity  maga- 
zines, while  at  the  first  session  of  each  National    Panhellenic  Congress  full  accounts 


16  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 

of  all  the  latest  developments  in  each  fraternity  are  presented.  Beginning  with 
an  intense  interest  in  their  own  problems,  fraternities  are  now  adding  to  that  an  al- 
most equally  intense  interest  in  the  world's  problems,  and  if  we  may  judge  the  future 
by  the  present  their  tendency  to  philanthropic  and  educational  work  for  other  than 
fraternity  members  is  likely  to  become  steadily  stronger. 

(But  how  about  the  third  object  which  National  Panhellenic  had  in  view — 
the  improvement  of  the  faults  of  the  fraternity  system?)  This  has  to  do  with  the 
the  field  most  familiar  to  deans  of  women — the  active  chapter  in  the  chapterhouse, 
and  in  this  field  lie  the  most  difficult  problems  that  confront  the  national  officers. 
There  are  at  present  592  active  chapters  of  Congress  fraternities,  situated  in  112 
colleges,  which  are  located  in  all  but  four  of  the  states  of  the  Union.  About  17,000 
girls  belong  to  these  chapters.  This  stream  of  young  and  eager  life  flows 
continually  in  at  the  freshman  door  and  out  at  the  senior,  but  in  the  chapter  house 
itself  the  time,  as  Tennyson  would  say,  is  always  morning,  and  the  girls  are  always 
young.  With  only  a  year  or  two  of  experience  these  girls  must  meet  the  perplexing 
problems  of  rushing  and  entertaining,  of  finance  and  study,  of  self  control  and  con- 
trol of  others.  They  themselves  are  intensely  conservative  and  intensely  radical. 
They  want  the  very  latest,  and  they  cling  tenaciously  to  "the  way  we  have  always 
done  in  our  chapter."  Every  difficulty  that  comes  before  a  dean  of  women,  comes  also 
before  a  national  fraternity  officer,  only  it  comes  to  her  from  every  quarter  of  the 
United  States  and  in  the  most  varied  forms.  But  twenty  years  of  steady  effort 
have  produced  some  improvements  in  chapter  house  life  and  in  college  Panhellenic 
relations.  Rushing  has  been  better  controlled.  High  School  bidding  has  been  eUm- 
inated  and  High  School  rushing  greatly  reduced.  The  expense  of  rushing  has  been 
brought  within  reasonable  limits  at  most  colleges.  Panhellenic  agreements  have 
mitigated  the  old  free-for-all  scramble  for  desirable  freshmen,  and  preference  bid- 
ding has  done  away  with  the  undignified  performances  of  former  years  when  personal 
bidding  prevailed.  Sophomore  pledging,  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  deans  a  few  years 
ago,  has  been  experimented  with  and  given  up  as  unsuited  to  girl  nature.  A  short 
rushing  season  and  a  high  scholarship  requirement  for  initiation  have  been  found 
to  work  much  better.  Panhellenic  associations  have  given  girls  valuable  training 
in  making,  abiding  by  and  enforcing  laws.  Some  feeling  for  fair  fighting  and  good 
losing  has  been  aroused.  Back  of  every  chapter,  and  at  the  disposal  of  every  dean, 
if  serious  trouble  arises,  is  a  body  of  well  trained  and  efficient  officers  who  can  give 
council  or  exert  authority. 

But  the  fraternity  house  is  the  heart  and  center  of  active  chapter  life,  and  in 
it  both  the  advantages  and  the  difficulties  of  the  fraternity  system  appear.  Out 
of  the  592  chapters  belonging  to  the  eighteen  national  fraternities,  323  five  in  houses. 
Of  these  houses,  137  are  owned,  and  186  are  rented.  Of  those  owned  forty- 
seven  were  built  by  the  fraternity,  the  others  were  bought  and  remodelled. 
The  smallest  percentage  of  chapters  of  one  fraternity  living  in  houses  is 
thirty-seven,  the  largest  is  ninety-two,  the  average  is  fifty-eight.  Most  fraterni- 
ties have  funds  which  are  used  to  help  finance  new  houses.  An  alumnae  corpora- 
tion usually  buys  or  builds  the  house,  which  is  then  rented  from  them  by  the  active 
chapter.  These  houses  cost  from  $10,000  to  $30,000,  rarely  more.  Years  of  ex- 
perience have  convinced  fraternity  Grand  Officers  that  chapter  house  life  is  of  the 
greatest  value.  Girls  get  there  a  training  that  is  of  the  utmost  use  to  them  in  after  life. 
They  plan  meals,  buy  supplies,  select  furnishings,  keep  accounts,  attend  to  repairs 
and  learn  besides  as  members  of  a  group  to  make  decisions  for  the  common  ^ood, 
and  then  to  put  them  into  effect.  Such  experiences  develop  self  reliance,  efficiency 
and  leadership.  A  sense  of  responsibility  is  developed  in  the  seniors  by  the  duties 
that  come  to  them.  They  must  tram  the  Freshmen,  hold  the  highest  offices, 
and  meet  all  the  difficulties  that  arise.  The  very  fact  that  adequate  chaperones  are 
so  hard  to  get,  and  that  Grand  Officers  are  so  far  away  adds  to  the  training  of  the 
seniors,  who  must  make  good  all  deficiencies.  It  is  certain  that  the  future  will  see 
more  and  more  chapters  living  in  their  own  houses,  and  whUe  this  will  always  give 
deans  and  national  officers  some  problems,  these  are  not  at  present  fundementally 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  17 

What,  finally,  is  the  attitude  of  the  eighteen  national  fraternities  towards  ex- 
pansion? Expansion  is  gaining  in  popularity  with  all  fraternities.  From  1915  to 
1921  the  women's  fraternities  founded  162  new  chapters,  an  average  of  twenty-seven 
chapters  a  year,  and  entered  eight  new  colleges,  raising  those  on  the  eligible  list  from 
104  to  112.  It  is  probable  that  the  future  will  see  these  figures  surpasseed,  for  colleges 
are  crowded,  ehgible  girls  are  so  numerous  that  only  a  small  number  of  them  can 
be  accommodated  in  existing  chapters,  and  the  National  Panhellenic  Congress 
has  for  several  years  offered  to  help  the  expansion  of  any  new  National  Fraternity. 
This  year  several  are  starting  and  will  probably  soon  appear  in  N.  P.  C. 

What  then  in  a  word  are  the  tendencies  in  fraternity  life  today? 

1.  Toward  greater  interfratemity  intimacy. 

2.  Toward  improved  internal  organization. 

3.  Toward  greater  helpfulness  to  women  and  children  not  connected  with 
fraternities. 

4.  Toward  buying  and  building  chapter  houses. 

5.  Toward  the  development  of  chapter  house  life  as  a  training  in  coopera- 
tive living  and  leadership. 

6.  Toward  steady  expansion. 

It  seems  probable  that  around  some  or  all  of  these  tendencies  most  of  the  fraternity 
activities  in  the  near  future  will  center.  But  there  are  some  apparent  changes  in  stan- 
course  of dards  among  women,  both  moral  and  social  which  may  modify  or  deflect 
the  fraternity  development,  as  they  may  that  of  society  at  large.  Fraternity  officers, 
however,  cannot  at  present  see  these  changes  clearly  enough  to  prepare  for  them, 
but  must  meet  them  as  they  come  with  what  wisdom  the  future  provides. 


18  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 


FUTURE  OF  SORORITIES 

by  Mary  Ross  Potter 
'Dean  of  Women,  Northwestern  University 

I  remember  with  a  smile,  how  some  years  ago,  when  I,  as  an  enthusiastic  young 
dean,  was  trying  to  find  my  way,  with  confident  anticipation  of  solving  all  pos- 
sible problems  in  short  order,  I  used  to  say  with  much  unction,  "A  University 
is  not  a  kindergarten,  and  it  is  not  a  reform  school."  As  the  years  have  gone 
by  I  have  come  to  realize  that  often  the  girl  who  comes  to  college  a  mere  child, 
needing  help  at  every  point,  "grows  up"  fast  and  outstrips  her  more  self-reliant 
sister;  and  many  times  the  girl  who  tries  us  most  reveals  the  truest  metal  once 
a  showing  of  patient  and  sympathetic  interest  has  won  her.  The  University 
of  today  takes  all  this  into  account  and  no  need  of  the  student  is  beneath  its 
concern.  Loans  of  many  are  made  on  easy  terms;  a  hospital  is  provided  with  doc- 
tors and  nurses  and  surgery,  often  free;  there  are  domitories  with  trained 
dietitians  and  social  heads. 

When  the  colleges,  having  provided  the  best  instruction  possible,  considered 
their  obligation  fulfilled,  there  was  great  need  especially  for  women,  who  were 
none  too  welcome,  of  help  in  providing  suitable  housing  and  right  conditions 
of  social  life,  and  the  sorority  was  created  out  of  a  very  real  need.  It  met  that 
need  well. 

In  this  day  the  colleges  strive  to  meet  every  need  of  the  student,  and  so  they 
have  gradually  approached  success  in  this  endeavor,  and  less  and  less  has  actually 
been  left  to  the  sororities,  the  sororities  have  changed  in  their  nature.  They  still 
supply  a  genuine  demand,  and  supplement  in  valuable  ways  the  efforts  of  the 
college,  now  grown  large  and  perhaps  sometimes  helpless  before  the  needs  of 
the  individual  student.  They  provide  stimulus  for  high  scholarship,  whereas 
formerly  the  need  was  rather  to  provide  diversion  from  the  monotony  of  heavy 
work.  They  afford  congenial  groups,  relatively  small,  whose  members  feel  re- 
sponsible for  the  standing  of  the  group  as  a  whole  and  obligated  to  each  other 
to  teach  each  other  helpful  things.  They  offer  opportunity  for  the  develop- 
ment of  leadership  and  executive  ability  for  larger  numbers  than  would  be 
possible  without  the  smaller  grouping.  Are  they  measuring  up  entirely  to  their 
opportunity  for  service  to  college  women  either  within  or  without  their  ranks.? 

What  is  the  advantage  to  a  child  of  the  public  school  over  the  private  school? 
The  answer  is  obvious — the  opportunity  for  the  child  to  adapt  himself  to  children 
of  all  classes  and  thus  to  realize  the  rights  which  they  have  here  in  common 
and  the  obligation  of  each  to  all.  Up  through  the  secondary  schools  to  the  Uni- 
versity come  the  boy  and  girl  who  are  to  receive  there,  the  finishing  touches  of 
their  formal  education  for  citizenship — citizenship  in  that  America  which  has 
been  characterized  as  "an  experiment  in  faith  in  human  nature."  Tomakesuchan 
experiment  a  success  each  person  must  trust  his  fellow,  each  must  be  worthy 
the  trust  of  his  fellows,  and  each  must  not  only  recognize  the  rights  of  his  fel- 
lows but  be  deeply  concerned  that  those  rights  be  realized.  No  man  may  prof- 
it at  the  expense  of  his  fellows,  and  no  man's  doom  may  be  sounded  by  another 
than  himself.  And  as  a  means  to  all  this,  each  man  must  know  and  understand 
his  fellow.  The  same  need  of  broad  contact  exists  here  as  in  the  Public  School. 
America  has  not  realized  her  ideal,  but  that  she  is  constantly  setting  to  work  new 
agencies  which  move  in  that  direction  and  eliminating  elements  which  militate 
against  it  nobody  can  doubt.  The  University  has  not  yet  attained  its  ideal, 
but  it  too  is  marching  toward  it.    Not  the  least  of  the  signs  of  progress  in  the 


BY  DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  19 

past  few  years  is  the  new  spirit  of  self-determination  on  the  part  of  the  students. 
When  any  body  assumes  responsibility  for  the  solution  of  its  own  problems, 
then  the  solution  is  well  on  the  way.  There  needs  only  a  clear  understanding 
of  the  problem  itself,  and  the  American  student  is  quickly  "on  the  job." 

The  University  trains  for  citizenship.  The  University  graduate,  then, 
should  go  out  to  the  serious  duties  of  a  citizen  after  four  years  of  practice  in 
a  fine  senitiveness  to  the  rights  of  others;  a  conviction  of  his  obligation  to  assist 
in  maintaining  those  rights;  a  sense  of  the  "preciousness"  of  every  human  life 
and  its  right  to  a  "realizable  chance  of  happiness;"  an  appreciation  through 
experience  of  the  value  of  contact  with  many  types  of  people  and  with  varied 
interests  in  order  that  his  culture  may  be  broadened  and  his  horizon  widened. 

The  University  Freshman  comes  in  with  the  expectation  justly  conceived 
of  an  open  course  before  him,  with  opportunity  of  initiative  and  self-develop- 
ment, with  no  barrier  to  the  highest  attainment — mental,  social,  spiritual — 
of  which  his  nature  is  capable;  with  every  possibility  of  winning  honors,  friend- 
ships, happiness. 

Then  in  the  University  must  be  developed  all  possible  agencies  for  ful- 
filling these  ends,  and  no  influence  should  enter  there  which  will  detract  from 
these  high  achievements  for  every  student.  First  of  all,  to  quote  Mr.  Bridges 
— whose  book  "On  Becoming  an  American"  mav  naturally  apply  to  that 
section  of  America,  the  American  College,  as  well  as  to  the    entire  country. 

"It  is  not  possible  for  a  human  being  to  live  without  a  supreme  loyalty." 
But  that  loyalty  must  not  be  narrow.  To  the  student  as  a  student  that  supreme 
loyalty  should  be  his  college — the  alma  mater  which  affords  him  the  opportunity 
to  develop  into  his  best,  his  finest  self;  which  offers  him  membership  in  a  body 
large  enough  and  varied  enough  to  broaden  his  culture  and  widen  his  horizon 
through  contact  with  many  and  varied  types;  not  too  large  or  too  varied  to  en- 
list the  loyal  devotion  of  its  members  to,  not  merely  the  body  of  individuals 
who  compose  his  own  generation,  but  to  the  spirit  of  the  institution  as  expressed 
in  its  continuous  life. 

What  is  the  effect  of  the  sorority  as  it  exists  today  upon  the  possible  reali- 
zation of  the  real  purpose  of  the  University?  It  contributes  much,  and  all  that 
it  contributes  must  be  conserved.  I  should  like  at  this  point  to  "give  credit," 
as  the  authors  say.  I  could  not  have  undertaken  the  following  outline,  incom- 
plete and  merely  suggestive  as  it  is,  without  the  assistance  of  the  dozen  or  more 
Deans  of  Women  who  generously  responded  to  my  request  for  their  answers  to 
two  questions,  i.  e.  What  should  be  conserved  in  the  sorority  system?  What 
should  be  eliminated?  By  "conserved"  I  mean  not  simply  kept  for  the  sorrori- 
ties,  but  extended  to  all  who  desire  it  or  earn  it.    Here  are  the  answers: 

What  should  be  conserved: 

First  of  all,  the  small  group  of  congenial  and  mutually  responsible  friends, 
who  provide  an  impetus  to  high  scholarship,  assume  to  teach  other  helpful  things 
and  provide  that  backing  from  which  comes  a  sense  of  being  a  representative 
of  a  group  rather  than  an  isolated  individual,  and  which  brings  the  deep  satis- 
faction, that  come  with  the  close  of  lasting  friendships. 

Second,  the  spirit  of  loyalty  which  the  sorority  engenders  in  its  members 
and  which  furnishes  a  splendid  impetus  to  activity  and  an  incentive  to  high 
standards  and  high  ideals  which  are  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation. 

Third,  the  fine  initiative  and  power  of  leadership  which  a  sorority  develops 
in  its  members. 

I  might  add  a  fourth  point  the  training  which  comes  from  assuming  re- 
sponsibility for  a  house,  with  its  making  of  budgets,  and  general  training  in 
right  proportions.  This,  however,  valuable  as  it  is  to  both  the  University  and 
the  members  of  the  household,  would  probably  never  become  the  privilege  of 
every  college  woman. 


20  PAPERS  READ  BEFORE  SECTIONAL  MEETING 

And  what  in  the  light  of  the  high  calling  of  the  college  and  in  the  interest 
of  its  realization,  should  be  eliminated? 

First,  the  emphasis  of  the  group  at  the  expense  of  the  campus  at  large. 
Such  emphasis  is  expressed  when  a  sorority  pushes  one  of  its  members  for  office 
regardless  of  her  fitness  for  the  position,  and  more  still  when  sororities  combine 
to  exchange  votes  for  their  respective  members.  It  is  expressed  when  any  sort 
of  sorority  interest  is  permitted  to  take  precedence  over  a  general  college  in- 
terest. It  will  not  be  corrected  by  simply  compelling  the  members  to  enter  cer- 
tain activities  or  to  conduct  themselves  in  a  certain  way,  but  only  by  an  actual 
shifting  of  the  center  of  interest. 

Second,  the  emphasis  of  the  group  at  the  expense  of  the  individual  in  the 
group.  This  is  done  when  the  individual  is  drafted  to  represent  the  group  in 
an  activity  for  which  she  has  neither  taste  nor  time — a  whist  tournament,  for 
example.  On  a  certain  campus  was  heard  this  conversation  one  day:  *'Are 
you  going  to  vespers  today?"  "No,  it  isn't  my  day."  "Who  does  go  today?" 
"So-and-so  and  So-and-so."  It  is  done  when  a  Freshman  girl  is  induced  to  swear 
lifelong  devotion  to  thirty  or  forty  persons  whom  she  has  known  for  three  days 
or  even  three  weeks.  It  is  done  when  a  sorority  member  is  expected  to  humiliate 
herself  before  a  Freshman  girl  who  is  considered  "material"  for  membership. 
It  is  done  when  the  sorority  hampers  in  any  way  the  freedom  of  the  individual. 
And  indeed,  what  affects  the  individual  affects  the  group  as  a  whole,  so  there 
is  loss  all  round.  It  is  done  if  the  sorority  even  unconsciously  tends  to  dwarf 
the  interest  of  its  members  in  a  relationship  of  hearty  give  and  take  with  the 
students  of  a  different  type  from  herself. 

Third,  the  emphasis  of  the  group  at  the  expense  of  the  girl  outside.  "No- 
body wishes  to  harm  a  girl  outside,  but  if  the  good  of  the  sorority  demands  it, 
then  it  must  be  done,"  says  the  sorority.  But  no  human  being  has  the  right 
to  gain  his  own  ends  at  the  expense  of  another,  and  he  who  does  it  must  shrink 
and  shrivel  thereby.  For  the  good  of  the  sorority  member,  then,  as  well  as  for 
the  girl  outside,  this  thing  is  wrong.  It  is  done  when  she  is  passed  upon  and 
pronounced  wanting  by  a  small  group  of  privileged  persons,  perhaps  the  ac- 
quanitance  of  a  day  or  two,  whose  decision  is  as  a  rule  accepted  by  the  campus. 
It  is  done  when  her  neighbor  is  taken,  for  no  reason  which  is  apparent  to  her 
or  can  be  made  clear  to  her,  excepting  that  she  is  a  failure  at  making  friends. 
It  is  done  when  she  is  deprived  of  campus  social  life  through  the  monopoly  of 
it  by  the  sororities  and  fraternities.  It  is  done  when  in  any  way  the  sorority 
is  made  to  seem  to  those  outside  or  inside  to  represent  a  higher  social  caste. 
There  is  no  social  caste  in  America. 

The  sororities  were  not  originally  in  danger  of  committing  many  of  the 
wrongs  just  enumerated.  Now,  however,  as  women  have  flocked  to  the  college 
in  larger  numbers,  and  sororities  have  multiplied,  the  prosperity  has  wrought 
to  the  sororities  a  two  fold  detriment;  First,  since  they  cannot,  as  they  are 
now  organized,  assimilate  anything  like  the  entire  number  of  women  or  even 
all  who  seem  in  their  eyes  desirable,  they  have  fallen  into  the  way  of  selecting 
with  a  view  wholly  to  their  own  self-interests;  and  when  self-interest  becomes 
the  dominant  motive  of  action  the  effect  on  the  doer  is  destructive,  and  indeed 
the  keen  edge  of  satisfaction  must  sooner  or  later  grow  dull.  Second,  through 
sheer  necessity  of  self  preservation  in  the  face  of  competition,  they  too  often 
choose  their  members  with  an  eye  to  the  contribution  which  the  recruits  can 
make  to  the  standing  of  the  organization,  as  an  organization,  on  the  campus. 
And  this  competition  has  led  also  to  the  thing  called  "rushing."  It  is  well  named. 
The  sorority  member  hates  it,  the  college  authorities  condemn  it,  the  Senior 
on  graduation  thanks  goodness  that  there  will  be  no  more  of  it;  the  girl  who  is 
not  rushed  is  hurt;  the  girl  who  is  rushed  and  dropped  is  abused.  The  girl  who 
is  rushed  and  "bid"  has  many  thrills;  but  even  she,  before  it  is  over,  would 
almost  sacrifice  her  entrance  to  the  Promised  Land  to  be  free  from  it. 

So  much  for  the  pros  and  cons. 

We  are  living  in  a  time  of  great  and  significant  change,  the  keynote  of  which 
is  greater  consideration  and  understanding  of   the   aims  and   ideals  of  others. 


BY   DEANS  OF  STATE  UNIVERSITIES  21 

People  no  longer  care  to  be  banded  togther  for  exclusive  reasons  and  at  the 
sacrifice  of  broader  relationships;  and  women  especially  scorn  to  accept  per- 
sonal gain  at  the  expense  of  other  women.  Is  not  this  the  time,  then,  when  a 
movement  toward  the  really  best  thing  would  be  easy? 

It  is  not  for  me  to  offer  a  ready-made  plan;  I  have  none.  It  is  for  the  sorority 
women  themselves  to  do  it,  and  to  them  the  colleges  and  universities  look,  conscious 
of  the  fine  contribution  already  rendered,  and  believing  in  their  power  and  desire 
to  meet  the  challenge  of  the  present.  If  I  were  to  make  suggestions,  I  would 
recommend  the  following  basis  for  organization: 

(1)  A  clean  cut  basis  of  membership  worthy  the  loyalty  given  and  such 
that  it  may  be  defined  and  may  be  understood  by  non-members. 

(2)  Either  the  inclusion  of  all  women  who  can  qualify  on  the  basis  stated, 
or  a  form  of  organization  so  flexible  and  with  the  visible  point  of  distinction 
from  the  rest  of  the  campus  so  insignificant  that  other  similar  organizations 
can  be  formed  without  limit  and  can  take  their  place  on  the  campus  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  older  organizations. 

(3)  Either  membership  entered  upon  late  enough  so  that  both  sorority 
members  and  candidate  may  know  one  another  well  or  a  less  binding  bond, 
with  provision  for  severing  it  and  transferring  to  another  group  easily  and  with- 
out odium  attached. 

(4)  That  social  prestige  be  abandoned  as  a  consideration  of  the  group  as 
a  group. 

(5)  That  there  be  no  rushing. 

These  suggestions  are,  as  I  have  said,  not  intended  as  a  comprehensive 
plan,  but  simply  as  a  statement  of  certain  fundamental  principles  which,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  should  be  embodied  in  the  sororities  of  the  future.  I  believe 
that  I  express  the  sentiment  of  thinking  sorority  women,  alumnae  and  under- 
graduates, everywhere  in  saying  that  reorganization  along  these  lines  would 
bring  greater  satisfaction  to  sorority  members  and  a  contribution  to  the  ef- 
fort of  the  colleges  and  universities  toward  equal  opportunity  for  all  students 
of  self-realization  in  an  atmosphere  of  breadth  and  freedom  worthy  of  the  fine 
calibre  of  our  present  day  young  people.  A  great  movement  like  this  would 
do  much  to  free  this  "wild  young  generation"  from  the  froth  and  general  be- 
wilderment through  which  they  are  struggling,  much  of  which  they  have  in- 
herited from  the  recent  years,  and  from  which  I  truly  believe  they  would 
gladly  be  free. 

It  is  a  tremendous  thing  to  suggest — this  cold  blooded  inspection  and  re- 
generation of  so  time-honored  an  institution  as  the  system  of  national  sororities 
— but  this  is  a  day  of  big  things,  and  the  sororities,  I  truly  believe,  will  niove 
along  with  other  big  things.  They  are  in  a  position  to  assure  for  the  American 
college  campuses  this  problem  of  much  needed  universal  campus  organization 
because  of  the  prestige  which  their  long  experience  and  service  have  given  them; 
because  of  their  splendid  national  machinery,  ready  to  hand  for  setting  the  move- 
ment in  motion;  because  of  the  fine  example  which  they  have  already  given  on 
many  campuses  of  a  kind  of  housing  which  provides  successfully  for  both  physi- 
cal comfort  and  the  human  need  of  happiness  through  companionship.  I  am 
thinking  that,  as  campus  possibilities  shape  themselves  more  clearly  in  our  con- 
sciousness, the  house  may  prove  the  natural  unit,  whether  owned  by  the  students 
themselves  or  otherwise  provided. 

To  reconstruct  will  mean  to  lose  some  cherished  traditions;  but  is  not  all 
progress  based  upon  the  sacrifice  of  really  good  things  to  larger  and  better  things? 
Would  not  the  really  valuable  elements  of  the  sorority  be  preserved  and  even 
enhanced  in  value  through  a  frank  and  whole-hearted  pledging  of  the  sorority 
to  the  highest  good  of  the  campus  as  a  whole  and  every  individual  on  it?  A  large 
contract,  yes;  but  not  too  large.  I  wish  that  this  time  when  big  undertakings 
are  easy — small  ones  with  short  vision  do  not  enlist  out  interest  any  more — 
that  this  time  might  not  go  by  with  any  powerful  factor  of  college  life  not  yet 
brought  to  the  full  measure  of  its  possibility  of  constructive  contribution. 


^TT-p  ON  THE  I'ASJ-  ^ 

AH  "<'™i.i'~.  "rl"'- "-"' 

WIUU  BE  ASSESSED  _^^  DUE.   JHE        ^^^^„ 

I        DAY     AND    TO    «  ^^^^^^^^_^^^^^ 

I        OVERDUE.         ^========^ 


KOV  20  19321         ,^-5^RYUOA] 


IN 


•m 


oee  4  " 


.«  Jj^l^ 


p  21-50^^'^''^^ 


-^'seosa 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


